New ASTM International Standard helps classify waste

A new ASTM International Standard will provide companies with a general classification for sustainability accounting purposes and key performance indicators related to discarded materials.

Global companies especially often struggle to determine how much waste they generate because of different requirements related to waste and this makes it difficult for them to meet their environmental commitments and corporate responsibilities.

The new ASTM International Standard will help manufacturers classify discarded materials from their factories and facilities.

The new standard (soon to be published as E2979) was developed by ASTM International’s committee on sustainability (E60).

“This standard provides a system based on classification, location, disposition and treatment,” said ASTM International member Amy Costello, a sustainability manager at Armstrong Flooring. “It will provide manufacturers a common way to classify waste materials generated at their facilities.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Aleksandr Volkov